The Toronto Jewish Film Festival hits screens with a handful of queer-themed films that will be part of the program that runs from May 7 to 15 at the Al Green Theatre and Bloor Cinema. Maximiliano Pelosi’s documentary Other Among Others (Otro Entre Otros) (Tuesday, May 10, 8pm at the Al Green) examines the lives of a group of gay, Jewish men living in Buenos Aires, and it examines them without the slightest bit of charm, originality or verve; yes, every life is precious and meaningful, but you should still put a little effort into making it good viewing material, and Pelosi’s style here falls flat. More impressive is Doug Foulkes’ short documentary Joan And Verne’s Wedding, which accompanies the screening of Others and is the sweet tale of the wedding between two South African women who have been together for decades, and the support and love they receive from their family. Amit Epstein’s experimental film Stockholm Syndrome (Monday, May 9, 9.45pm) will be of interest to visual art enthusiasts, and it does feature some terrific camerawork overlaying its political themes, but its style is better suited to short films viewed separately and, when compiled, the various pieces of it become very tiresome, very quickly.
The piece de resistance of the bunch, then, is a terrific miniseries being screened in complete form for audiences at the TJFF (with a repeat performance at next week’s Inside Out Festival). Eytan Fox’s Mary Lou (Thursday, May 12, 8pm at the Bloor Cinema) is billed as Israel’s answer to Glee and Mamma Mia: a bildungsroman about a young boy who grows up searching for his mother who abandoned him, then moves to Tel Aviv and becomes a successful drag queen, is actually much more moving and poignant than the above-mentioned crowdpleasers (it’s more like Israel’s answer to Muriel’s Wedding). You’ll have no problem whatsoever sitting through all four 45-minute episodes in one go; Ido Rosenberg is irresistible in the lead and the musical score (all of it taken from the oeuvre of Eurovision-winning, Israeli pop singer Svika Pick) incredibly catchy. Fox continues the terrific habit he has shown in past films such as The Bubble, Walk On Water and Yossi & Jaeger to present a highly engaging combination of warm humour, manipulative melodrama and gorgeous men for a thoroughly satisfying experience. Do not miss it!
The Toronto Jewish Film Festival hits screens with a handful of queer-themed films that will be part of the program that runs from May 7 to 15 at the Al Green Theatre and Bloor Cinema. Maximiliano Pelosi’s documentary Other Among Others (Otro Entre Otros) (Tuesday, May 10, 8pm at the Al Green) examines the lives of a group of gay, Jewish men living in Buenos Aires, and it examines them without the slightest bit of charm, originality or verve; yes, every life is precious and meaningful, but you should still put a little effort into making it good viewing material, and Pelosi’s style here falls flat. More impressive is Doug Foulkes’ short documentary Joan And Verne’s Wedding, which accompanies the screening of Others and is the sweet tale of the wedding between two South African women who have been together for decades, and the support and love they receive from their family. Amit Epstein’s experimental film Stockholm Syndrome (Monday, May 9, 9.45pm) will be of interest to visual art enthusiasts, and it does feature some terrific camerawork overlaying its political themes, but its style is better suited to short films viewed separately and, when compiled, the various pieces of it become very tiresome, very quickly.